My comments on the Bog/Dnister culture and its
relationships were based on memory of notes taken
after reading a book published last year (2000) by the
Institute of Archaeology of the Ukrainian Academy of
Sciences. After reviewing these notes I must make a
couple of corrections.
Correction n.1.: The corded ware ornament in D/D does
not appear in the culture's early phase. Only in its
final phase, when the D/D territory had shrunk
considerably and was located for the most part in
southeast Belarus. This last phase is synchronous to
the CII phase of Trypilia (at Horodsk and Sofiivka),
itself under great influence from the Late Serednyj
Stih/Early Yamna complex.
Correction n.2: It is not in fact absolutely certain
that "the concept of pottery" came to D/D from B/D.
The earliest D/D shares both ceramic forms and
ornamentation systems with the very earliest
(SKIBINETS) phase of B/D. But it is possible that D/D
did not receive this from B/D but from an eastern
source directly [cf. below A.2]. Here is the
development of B/D currently espoused in Ukrainian
archaeology:
A. Early Period. 1. KUKREK "pre-ceramic" phase. 2.
SKIBINETS phase. [This is when the earliest pottery is
detected. Its genetic links are clearly eastern. It is
"sharp-ended" and has links to the ceramics of the
Crimea, Azov,Lower Don, and Djebel in Turkmenia. Only
the first faint links to the Balkans are present. At
this stage they are very minor and constitute some 2%
of the discovered shards. The closest analogy is to
Nea Nicomedia in Thessaly (RC 6200 BC) 3. SOKOLETS
phase. The Balkan influence intensifies, with the
arrival of "grey" ware and the spread of flat bottomed
pots.
B. Middle Period. 1. PECHERSK phase. For the most part
this is an "organic" development of the preceding
period, but there are now two clear pottery traditions
detectable: (a) a continuation of the early "eastern"
styles; (b) adoption of the Koros-Starchevo style,
which becomes increasingly important. At the end of
PECHERSK B/D can be interpreted as primarily a
primitive outlying component of the Balkan sphere. 2.
SAMCHINSK phase. This is actually a "period of
depression" (acc. to the terminology of Ukr.
archaeologists) with respect to southern contacts.
They are not interrupted, but B/D suffers an
"invasion" of D/D elements with their own
particularities (both in ceramics and in microlithic
inventory). The biggest "foreign influence" at this
stage is LBK (pottery imports).
3. Late Period. 1. SAVRAN' phase. The Balkan contacts
are strongly renewed. The donor cultures are Vincha
and others. 2. KHMIL'NYK phase. The lithic inventory
and settlement topography become very close to early
Trypilia further south. The B/D settlements are
absorbed by the spreading Trypilian culture and lose
their identity.
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